Easel type display container



July 10, 1962 G. DALINE EASEL. TYPE DISPLAY CONTAINER Filed Sept. 4, 1959 FIG. 3

INVENTOR.

GORDON DALINE BY HTTORNEY United States Patent 3,943,422 EASEL TYPE DlSPLAY CONTAINER Gordon Daline, Excelsior, Minn. (R0. Box 572, Tacoma, Wash.) Filed Sept. 4, 1959, Ser. No. 838,303 4 Claims. ((31. 206-4524) This invention relates to an easel type display container particularly adapted for containing and displaying a plurality of products.

It is an object of this invention to provide a container in which a pair of transparent envelopes are interconnected at the upper portions thereof and spread apart at the bottoms thereof to provide an upstanding easel type container visually displaying the enclosed products.

It is also an object to provide such a container which will attractively display and draw attention to the products contained therein.

It is a further object to provide such a container having a stiffening frame attached to the longitudinal upwardly extending envelope side edges to impart additional stability to the upstanding easel formed by the interconnected envelopes.

It is another object to provide such a display container adapted to be easily and inexpensively manufactured from flat, flexible transparent sheet material, such as polyethylene, which permits heat sealing of the envelopes.

It is an additional object to provide such a display container which is extremely shock resistant and which may be stored and transported without need for protective padding, and which, even when containing liquids, can be dropped upon hard surfaces and otherwise subjected to rough handling without spilling the contents thereof.

These and other objects and advantages of this invention will more fully appear from the following descriptions made in connection with the accompanying drawing wherein like reference characters refer to the same or similar parts throughout the several views, in which:

FIG. 1 is a perspective view of a container embodying the present invention;

FIG. 2 is a central vertical sectional view of the container taken along the line 22 of FIG. 1; and,

FIG. 3 is a central vertical section partly broken away of a container embodying a modified form of my invention.

In the form of the invention shown in the accompanying drawing a pair of envelope-shaped compartments designated respectively as and 12 are provided having respectively the longitudinal and transverse edge portions 7 sealed together to retain a product therein.

The compartments 10 and 12 are formed by a pair of opposed layers 14 and 16 of transparent material of a type capable of facilitating the marginal edge portions thereof to be sealed together. Heat sealing has proved satisfactory for this purpose and therefore material capable of being heat sealed is desirable, such as any thermoplastic material. The layers 14 and 16 may be sealed along the longitudinal edges thereof to provide marginal edge portions respectively forming the sides 10a and 12a of the compartments 10 and 12.

The two sheets, or layers 14 and 16, are then doubled back on themselves along fold line'18 to divide the inner compartment into the two separate compartments 10 and 12. The marginal portion adjacent the fold line 18 is then sealed to permanently divide the two compartments across the top of the container.

The lower marginal transverse edge portions of the compartments 10 and 12 are also sealed together to provide respectively the lower marginal edges 10]] and 12b of the compartments 10 and 12. Before the com- I 3,043,422 Patented July It], 1962 "ice 2 pantrnents are sealed closed, the product is, of course, placed therein.

The inner sheet 16 has the inner surfaces thereof disposed in substantially back-to-back relation and the upper intermediate portions are secured together and the lower end portions are free and may be spread apart to form the easel type display container. As best shown in FIG. 2, this connection between the adjacent'portions of upper intermediate surfaces of the layer 16 is formed by heat sealing as indicated at 20.

As shown in FIG. 3, this connection may also be formed by a transparent adhesive tape 21.

As best shown in FIG. 2, liquid is confined within the compartments 10 and 12 and separates the opposite unsealed surfaces of the compartments provided by the polyethylene sheets 14 and 16. In the form shown, an equal amount of liquid may be contained within each of the compartments 10 and 12 of sufficient volume to hold the lower portions of the said compartments in spaced apart relationship when the upper intermediate inner surfaces are interconnected as described earlier.

Additional stability is imparted to the upstanding display easel by a pair of stiffening frame members 24 which are attached respectively to the outer edges of the compartments 10 and 12. In the form shown, the stiffening members 24 are similar frames of relatively stiff but slightly flexible cardboard.

A plurality of the display containers may be packed together upon their sides, and may be packaged on top of one another for shipment by ordinary methods without the need for additional protective padding or special care in handling. Furthermore, the container may be dropped upon hard surfaces and otherwise subjected to rough treatment without breaking or spilling even liquid contents. The container is therefore especially useful for displaying liquid products in self-service stores and sales counters. In particular, the container will atractively display colored liquids, and provides a container that can easily be transported and stored by the consumer.

It will, of course, be understood that various changes may be made in the form, details, arrangement and proportions of the parts without departing from the scope of this invention which, generally stated, consists in the matter set forth in the appended claims.

What I claim is:

1. An easel type display container for separately containing and displaying a plurality of articles comprising a plurality of sealed compartments connected together at the tops thereof, a pair of said compartments having the bottoms thereof spaced apart and respectively forming the legs of an easel, said compartments being formed from layers of flexible material having the marginal edge portions thereof connected together to. respectively form the sides and bottoms of said compartments, and opposed intermediate portions of adjacent inner layers forming the inside Walls of said compartments being connected together at a point spaced a substantial distance downwardly from the upper edges of said compartments.

2. The structure set forth in claim 1 and stiffening means provided upon longitudinal side portions of said front and back containers to impart stability to the easel formed thereby.

tion, said pair of compartments being folded downwardly upon each side of. said common transverse edge port-ion to position intermediate portions of said pair of envelope shaped compartments in back to back relationship, means interconnecting said backto back portions at a point spaced a substantial distance downwardly from the upper interconnected edges of said compartments, means maintaining respective lower transverse edge portions of said compartments in spaced apart relationship generally parallel to the upper common transverse edge portions thereof, said spaced apart lower edge portions providing stable resting surfaces for maintaining said container in upright easel position to display the liquids contained in said compartments.

4. The structure set forth in claim 3 and a plurality of stifiening members respectively attached to each edge portion of said container to impart additional stability to the easel formed by said pair of compartments.

References Cited in the file of this patent UNITED STATES PATENTS 2,069,332 Salfisberg l Feb. 2, 1937 2,584,633 Sou-thwick Feb. 5, 1952 2,756,874 Erickson et al. July 31, 1956 

